The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1887-09-07
Jenifer's Inheritance.


ing the fact lay before him, beside the
breakfast which he had forgotten in the
thought of this unexpected good for
tune. 1t was not meager breakfast,
although Mr.. Jenifer at five-and-forty
was still only curate on a stipend of
9150per annum, for through the greater
part of his twenty years in holy orders
he had acted on the principle that if he
gave his time to the poor it was as much
as they could expect, and so if they
called Parson Jenifer "hard " and
"close," and preferred going to the
vicar-why, that was not his fault.
His inheritance consisted in good
house and several hundreds year, and
he sat and thought over the difference
this would make in his future. No
more for him the daily service, read as
part of the days work--no more visit
ing of thrftless, complaining, muddling
poor, with whom he was completely out
of touch-in word, no more drudgery
Twenty years of drudgery! This
was what his life amounted to. Not
for him the spirit of love that softens
and the high thoughts that sanctify
daily tasks; only the grudging gift of
obligatory toll. 1t was written on his
face, in lines marked by twenty years
no, not quite twenty-five had thought
differently at first-but by more than a
dozen years of discomfort and repining.
1t was pity, too, for the face was one
of great possibilities, clouded over by
the dizziness of heart that fails to see
through the service of the Master who
is served.
Even now he had no regret for the
kind old friend who had left him a
goodly share of his property; no thought
that the hand which had ever been
ready to help him and many another
was helpless now henceforth; no spirit
of gratitude for this last loving gift
only selfish pleasure in his own good
luck and feeling of discomfort that it
had been so long in coming. And thus
thinking he rose and went to see his
vicar, to make arrangements for the visit
to the lawyer, which must precede his
taking possession of his Inheritance.
He found no difficulty in obtaining
leave of absence for the purpose. The
vicar was kind and open-hearted man,
and pleased at his curate's unexpected
prosperity.
"Well, Jenifer," he said, 81 am
NCll Sldu lOl yOu, luOuSu YOU Gall dD-
preciate it as much as if you had wife
and family dependent on you. All
the same, you have my hearty congrat-
ulations."
"Ah," said Mr.. Jenifer, things gen.
orally come too late. Now if this had
happened when 1 was ten years
younger what a difference it would
have made to mel"
But your friends life was a very
valuable one to many, was it not?"
said the vicar. From all l have
heard of him l should think that even
now there will be plenty of people to
say that the end has come ten years too
soon rather than too late"
why, he was nearly ninety!" said
Jenifer, as if the fact was rather re-
proach to the old man. Then he
fastened away to make his preparations
for leaving.
The wears wife came in as the Gu
rate went out. She found her husband
gazing rather sadly into the dull street.
Mary, my DEAR" he said, I" it is
my belief that after the miracles of the
loaves and fishes there were some
among the five thousand who COM
planned that the bread was stale and the
fish not so fresh as it might have BEEN"
Meanwhile Clement Jenifer was
speeding on to London to see his law
yer. He found there was one condi-
ton which he must fulfill before he
could call himself master of house and
income. Mr.. Dacre had only willed
Waterdell Hall to him under the pro-
vision that he should pass one night in
the hOusa antirplv alona
Mr.. Jenifer laughed when this clause
was read to him.
"That's not a very hard thing to
do" said he. " But was Mr.. Dacre's
brain softening when he made his
will?"
Not at ALL" answered the lawyer,
shortly. " Any one who saw Mr..
Dacre in his last hours will tell you
that the dear old mans mind was as
clear to the end as in his best days.
When you 90 to Waterdell you will not
please your poor neighbors there if you
suggest to them that the man who was
so universally beloved and revered
was crazy. have no doubt this letter,
which he instructed me to deliver to
you personally, will explain the matter -
This was, however, not the case.
The note was but short one, and gave
no reason for the testator's wish, ex-
cept that he had inherited Waterdell
Hall under the same stipulation-that
he had ever been thankful for having
carried it out, and hoped that though
his friend, Clement Jenifer, was older
than he himself had been when he
came into the property e. for" he
wrote, with touch of his ordinary
humor, have been, like Charles III.
an uncomfortable time a dying "
yet, that solitary night passed in his
future home would prove as great a
blessing to him as it had been to the
writer, and so, without further eXplana-
ton, signed himself his aifectionate
friend, Thomas Dacre.
That was all. Clement Jenifer never
liked being made ridiculous, and he
thought that this will went very neal
that possibility. Yet he could not lose
his inheritance for fear of being absurd
so after certain business instructions
from his lawyer he went to his hotel
for that night and next morning started